Shuttle operating mechanism



y 1931- J. E. BARBOUR 1,807,333

SHUTTLE OPERATING MECHANISM I Filed Dec. 4, 1930 i 2 Sheets -Sheet l wvmtoz,

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May 26, 1931. u. E. BARBOUR I SHUTTLE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Svwamtoz Jbh 11 L Barfiour,

Patented May 26, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN E. BAR-BOUR, F PA'I'ER-SON, NEXV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL NET & TWINE CO. INC., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A GO152EORA'IION OF DELAWARE SHUTTLE OPERATING MECHANISM Application filed December direction equals in length the combined strokes of the lays. The load represented by the shuttles is considerable and due to the action of gravity thereon the motion has heretofore been irregular, involving not only 1-5 considerable jar and vibration but a waste of power to drive the lays due not only to the irregular nature of the motion but to the necessity of forming certain of the parts sturdy and hence heavy enough to withstand its destructive action. According to my invention I provide a counterbalance load, as a weight, and I equip the mechanism to the end that on each transfer of shuttles from one to the other lay there will be a reciprocal transfer of the counterbalance to the former lay,

whereby the drive will act always on a counterbalanced system and the action of the mechanism will be smooth or uniform, or without jar or vibration, and the waste of power avoided both because of this and also because the parts of the machine concerned in the motion of the lays can be less pon'derous than heretofore.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig.1 is a front elevation of so much of a shuttle-motion of the type indicated as is necessary to illustrate the invention, such shuttle-motion being here shown applied to-a net'- forming machine; a

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of what is shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33, Fig.1, of the upperlay and a certain control member; s

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section of the lower lay,'showing a shuttle thereon;

' Fig. 5 shows fragment of" the upper lay in front elevation and carrying the counter balance load; and Fig. 6 is a section on line 66, Fig. 5.

1 is a standard of the machine frame in 4; 1930. Serial No. 499,876.

which are movable vertically the upper and lower lays 2 and 3 together toward and together from each other due to their being parts of anup-and-down-moving system comprising them, links 4, and a rocker or lever 5 to which they are connected by the links and which is fulcrumed between its ends in a bracket of upstanding portion of the stand ard 1. Thelower lay includes a bracket 6 having a sliding engagement with said standard, whereby it is guided in its up and down movements; the upper lay is guided as will hereinafter appear. The lays receive their motion from a suitably rotated cam 7 in whose groove 7a is engaged a roller 6a on the bracket 6.

In a bracket 8 projecting from the standard is confined for vertical thrustwise movement up and down a shaft 9 which has its upper end reduced to receive and support one or more weights 10. This shaft and weights form the mentioned counterbalance load, and in this example such loadact-s to counterbalance the shuttle load by the force of gravity. The shaft penetrates a-fixed sleeve 11 in the upper lay with a sliding fit, and thus the upper lay is guided vertically in this example. Since this shaft is in the same plane with the lever 5 the latter may be bowed around it, as at 5a. It has a circumferential underneath shoulder at 9a. The counterbalance load is adapted to rest on the lower lay at a socket or seat 12 alined therewith. l 13 denotes the shuttles each equipped in any way not here material to deliver or otherwise 'control yarn. They may seat on the lower lay in upright position in a groove 14' therein and in pockets formed between pegs 15 projecting from the near wall of the groove, or otherwise. v

16 is a catch-bar or coupler having oblique slots 16a receiving depending headed studs 17 of the upper lay and hence movable back and forth obliquely. When it moves to the left and back it is adapted to catch in the hooked noses 13a of the shuttles and thus coact with adepending flange 2a on the upper lay to support the shuttles, and when it moves to the right it is adapted to catcliunder shoulder 9a of the count rbalance load. In movingin either direction it further clears either the counterbalance load or the shuttles, as the case may be. Therefore if this coupler is moved in the first direction every other time the lays approach each other the upper lay structure will carry the shuttle load up and down and leave the counterbalance load resting at 12, or carried down and back by the lower lay, and if the coupler is moved in the other direction on the remaining approaches of the lays toward each other the lower lay will carry the shuttles down and up and leave the counterbalance load caught at 9a by the coupler, or carried by the upper lay structure. In short, on each approach of the lays to ward each other transfer of the shuttles and weight element from lay to lay occurs reciprocally or by interchange, so that the weights of both lays and their loads always counterbalance each other.

The movements of the coupler intermittently (here back and forth) to couple the.

shuttle or counterbalance load to the upper lay on successive approaches of the lays toward each other may be accomplished by any suitable means, say as follows:

In a bracket 18 on the upper lay is fulcrumed on a front-to-rear axis a T-shaped lever 19 having each side of its fulcrum a setscrew 20 and its upright portion depending and engaged in a groove 16?) of the coupler. This forms a shifter for the lever, its set screws being tappets thereof, and it is shifted back and forth as an incident of the downward movement of lay 2 by one or the other of its tappets engaging an abutment 21a of a slide 21 which is guided in standard 1 at 1?) and is normally urged to the left, so that the abutment underlies the left-hand tappet, by a spring 22 and moved to the right 011 alternate strokes of the two lays, so that the abutment underlies the other tappet, by a lever 23 fulcrumcd in the frame and adapted to be moved against the tension of spring 22 by a hump 7?) of cam 7.

Cam-groove 7a is formed (see Fig. 2) so that in each cycle of the cam the lays will. undergo two strokes toward and from each other, and hump 7b is so related to this cam groove (specifically, its left-hand lobe in Fig. 1) that when the lays on alternate strokes approach each other the lever 23 will be shifted by the cam hump 7b to move slide 21 to the right but will return under the tension of spring 22 when the hump has passed and remain in its new or left-hand position when the lays approach each other on their remaining strokes.

Operation: Assume the shuttle load is on the lower and the counterbalance load is on the upper lay as shown, and the shifter held to the left by spring 22. When, as the result of the right-hand lobe of cam-groove 7a in Fig. 2 acting on roller 6a, the lays approach ea ch. other, bringing coupler lo and the shuttle noses opposite each other and the counterbalance load to rest on seat 12, the left hand tappet 20 engages abutment 21a, rocking lever 19 in the direction to shift the coupler into engagement with the shuttles and out of engagement with the counterbalance load, so that the shuttle load will next travel up and back with the upper lay and the eounterlmlance load down and back with the lower lav. On the next succeeding approach of the lays toward each other, or when the left-hand lobe of cam-groove 7a acts on roller be, bringing the shuttle load back to the lower lay and the counterbalance load in position to receive the coupler under its shoulder 9a, cam-hump Tbacts to shift slide 21 to the right, or so that the right-hand tappet 20 will engage the abutment 21a, whereby lever 19 will be rocked back and so shift coupler 16 out of engagement with the shuttles and into engagement with the counterbalance load and the shuttles will next travel down and back with the lower and the counterbalance load up and back with the upper lay.

In other words, means, including coupler 16, is present to impose the shuttle and counterbalance loads respectively on the two lays on the alternate approaches of the lays toward each other and to impose each load on the relatively opposite lay on the remaining approaches of the lays toward each other. In the example a single coupler serves both loads, moving intermittently (in the example, back and forth) to couple them alternately with the upper lay in time with reciprocations of the lays.

In another aspect of the. invention the lower lay may be regarded as a support on which the two loads seat and irrespective of its movability present in the example shown and described, the upper lay receives on those up-and-down movements thereof when it does not carry the shuttle load a load substantially equalling the shuttle load. Conversely given a lay, as the lower lay, on which the loads seat, the upper lay may be regarded as asupport to which, irrespective of its movability in the example, the coupling means couples the loads alternately 011 a succession of movements of the latter lay. Thus, in either case, the moving lay is subject to load on every stroke.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

1. A shuttleanotion mechanism comprising, in combination, a frame, an up-anddown-moving system therein including upper and lower lays connected to move together toward and together from each other,

a shuttle load and acolmterbalance load, and means to impose said loads respectively on the lays on the alternate approaches of the lays toward each other and to impose each load on the relatively opposite lay on the remaining approaches of the lays toward each other.

2. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising in combination, a frame, an Lip-anddown-moving system including upper and lower lays connected to move together toward and together from each other, a shuttle load and a counterbalance load arranged to seat on the lower lay, .and means to couple Said loads alternately to the upper lay on successive approaches of the lays toward each other.

3. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising, in combination, a frame, an up-anddown-moving system including upper and lower lays connected to move together'to ward and together from each other, a shuttle load and acounterbalance load arranged to seat on the lower lay, a coupler movable on the upper lay intermittently and in a succession of its movement alternately coupling the loads with the upper lay, and means to move said'coupler intermittently in time with reciprocations of the lays.

l. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising, in combination, a frame, an up-and down-moving system including upper and lower lays connected to move together toward and together from each other, a shuttle load and a counterbalance load arranged to seat on the lower lay, backsand-forth movable means on the upper lay to couple said loads alternately therewith on successive approaches of the lays toward each other, and means to shift the first means first in one and then in the other direction, repeatedly, in time with reciprocations of the lays.

5. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, a support on which said loads seat, and upand-down-moving lay, and means to couple said loads alternately with said lay for up and down movement therewith.

6. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, a support on which said loads seat, an upanddown-moving lay, a coupler movable on the lay intermittently and on a succession of its movements alternately coupling the loads with the lay, and means to move said coupler intermittently in time with reciprocations of the lay.

T. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, a support on whichsaid loads seat, an up-a-nddown-moving lay, back-and-forth movable means on the lay to couple said loads alternately there-with on successive downward movements of the lay, and means to shift the first means firstin one and then in the other direction, repeatedly, in time with re ciprocations of the lay.

8. A shuttle-motionmechanism comprismg a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, an

up-and-down-moving lay on which said loads seat, a support, and means to couple said loads alternately with said support on a succession of movements of the lay.

9. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprisin a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, an up-and-down-moving lay on which said loads seat, a support, a coupler movable on the support intern'iittently and on a succession of its movements alternately coupling the loads with the support, and means to move the coupler intermittently in time with reciprocations of the lay.

10. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising a frame, a shuttle load and another load substantially equalling the shuttle load, an up-and-down-moving lay on which said loads seat, a support, back-and-forth movable means on the support to couple said loads alternately therewith on successive upward movements of the lay, and means to shift the first means first in one and then in the other direction, repeatedly, in time with reciprocations of the lay.

11. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprisin a frame, a shuttle load and another load su stantially equalling the shutttle load, the latter load being guided for up-and-downmovement by the frame, a support on which said loads seat, an up-and-down-moving lay, and means to couplesaid loads alternately with said lay for up and down movement therewith.

12. A shuttle-motion mechanism comprising a frame, a support, an up-and-downmoving lay, a load seated on the support, coupling means movable on the lay alternately into and out of coupling engagement with the load and thereby adapted to connect the load with or free it from the lay, and means, including an abutment shiftable into the path of the first means in its movement with the lay, for moving the first means into and out of coupling engagement with the load.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

JOHN E. BARBOUR. 

